Dominican Republic celebrates big as WBC champs
March 20, 2013
It was a night the Dominican Republic won’t soon forget. They beat Puerto Rico 3-0 to win the World Baseball Classic Tuesday, becoming the top baseball country in the world.
Players, fans and even the president celebrated late into the night the meaningful accomplishment, one that Dominican general manager Moises Alou says gets the country a national holiday today.
“In the Dominican, everyone eats and breathes baseball,” said Alou, according to ESPN. “This has to be right up there with an Olympic gold medal. This is as good as it gets.”
As the final out was called and the players rushed onto the field – waving flags in hand – thousands of fans chanted “Dominicana!” from their seats at AT&T Park in San Francisco and other thousands celebrated on the streets in Santo Domingo. The Associated Press reports that Dominican president Danilo Medina also celebrated, making sure to call the team and congratulate each player as soon as the team took the title.
”We appreciate that from the president,” shortstop Jose Reyes said. ”This win is all about the Dominican Republic. They were hungry waiting for this moment, and we did it.”
Two of the team’s runs came in the first inning, while the other one came in the fifth. Their win then came when Fernando Rodney struck out Luis Figueroa to end the game and earn their title.
Manager Tony Pena, who managed the first team to win the championship while staying undefeated throughout the whole tournament, said they wanted to “enjoy every moment.” Robinson Cano, who took MVP honors with his .469 batting average throughout the tournament, certainly agreed with this.
“This is always going to be in our hearts for the rest of our lives,” Cano said. “Everyone of us who played in this game will always remember the World Baseball Classic.”
SD Yankee Report 